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5 medicinal plants you may have on hand
Plants have been used for medicinal purposes for centuries, and you may have some of these natural remedies in your own back yard.
Wed, Sep 26 2012 at 4:48 PM
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Nature’s pharmacy includes hundreds of medicinal plants and herbs that can be used for healing. Whether it’s an opioid-containing poppy flower used as a calming agent or the herb sage, an anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal treatment, medicinal plants date back centuries across numerous cultures. Today, both Western and Chinese medicine practice plant -based healing. You probably have medicinal plants in your home or garden.
Here are five medicinal plants you may have on hand:
Aloe vera
“Most people have aloe at home, and if they don’t, a neighbor has it,” says Marci Cervone, a master gardener with the University of Florida Extension Program and a natural living consultant in Jacksonville, Fla. “Aloe contains various compounds that reduce inflammation, swelling, redness, pain and itching.”
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Uses: For burns, cuts and minor abrasions; also as a mild laxative
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How to take: Cut and pop open a fresh aloe leaf and rub it on the wound. “It promotes healing, and helps injured skin from getting infected,” says Cervone. The clear gel dries into a natural bandage. For a laxative, squeeze out the gel of one large leaf into a glass of fresh purified water, stir and drink.
Dandelion
Much more than a weed, dandelion is a nutritious healing herb that stimulates the flow of bile. It enhances the body’s ability to eliminate toxins.
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Uses: As a diuretic (may help with PMS bloating), prevents gallstones and cleanses the liver. “Dandelion leaves contain noteworthy amounts of vitamin C and beta-carotene and are considered an antioxidant that help sets the stage for preventing many diseases,” says Cervone.
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How to take: Eat the leaves in salad or steam them as a veggie. Cream of dandelion soup, anyone?
Lemon balm
Also called Melissa, lemon balm has a calming effect on heart palpitations and an agitated state of mind.
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Uses: Soothes stomach, calms nerves.
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How to take: For a relaxing bath to promote sleep, tie a handful of lemon balm in cheesecloth and run bathwater over it. As a tea to soothe tummy trouble or calm nerves, use two teaspoons of leaves for each cup of water, steep 10-20 minutes and drink. Caution: not to be used during pregnancy as it can stimulate the uterus.
Lavender
This fragrant herb has a long history in both medicine and cosmetics.
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Uses: As a sedative, stress reliever, to restore calm and relieve tension.
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How to take: Add dried lavender to bathwater as aromatherapy to soothe and calm, or make tea from one teaspoon leaves and flowers steeped in one cup boiling water.
Parsley
“Parsley leaves, roots and seeds all contain an oil with significant diuretic and mild laxative properties,” says Cervone. Parsley also inhibits the secretion of histamines, a compound produced by the body that causes allergies, hives and hay fever.
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Uses: Breath freshener, allergy relief, tummy troubles.
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How to take: Use two teaspoons dry leaves or one teaspoon of crushed seeds per cup of boiling water, steep for 10 minutes, then strain and drink as tea; chew on a few sprigs for bad breath.
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Thanks for the information. What do I do with the clover? Eat the flowers? Brew the leaves? Boil the roots?
The flower is used in a tea either fresh or dried. The native americans boiled the roots of first year plants as food. It is/was an essencial part of a root festival such as was held before the summer berry season.
Alfalfa greens are sometimes pureed in a blender with water and sprayed on other plants as a growth similant.
An easier way to use dandelion is to dig up the roots, wash them clean, and roast them. You can roast them in the oven or in a dry pan on the stove. They should be dark brown. then grind 'em up like coffee and add them to your coffee. Dandelion and chickory have long been used with coffee beans to make coffee. Over time, dandelion has fallen out of favor.